Giuseppe SCARDOZZI / Laura CASTRIANNI / Giacomo DI GIACOMO / Imma DITARANTO
(CNR – IBAM, Lecce, Italy)
Outline:
– Archaeological map and GIS aimed to increase historical knowledge and protection of ancient centres on which modern cities are overlapped.
– Cartography finalized to the archaeological research.
Abstract:
The paper regards two case studies concerning southern Italy (Ugento and Taromina). This archaeological research contributes to the knowledge, protection and development of ancient centres with continuity of life by means of archaeological map and GIS production.
Ugento (Puglia) was the most extensive settlement of ancient Messapia. To this day a portion of the modern city overlaps the ancient area. The survey activity was carried out by the CNR-IBAM, along with the Laboratory of Ancient Topography and Photogrammetry of the University of Salento (LabTAF), the Archaeological Superintendence Board of the Puglia Region and the Town of Ugento. The ancient city had never been systematically investigated. All of the archaeological evidence of the Messapian and Roman periods, as well as that which has been destroyed due to the urban expansion of the last 60 years, has been integrated into an archaeological map and GIS, that have been used by the Town of Ugento in the realization of a variant in the general zoning regulation. The cartographic base is an aero-photogrammetry finalized to the archaeological research and produced in the LabTAF on a scale of 1:2000, adjusted for the clauses regarding the preservation of remains that are still conserved. This has permitted them to plan the expansion of the city and constrain the most important ancient remains.
The other case concerns the ancient Tauromenion, founded at the end of the IV Century B.C., which is now known as Taormina (Sicily). It is actually an important tourist attraction due mainly to its exceptional natural position. The project in progress is to be realized in cooperation with the Department of Ancient Sciences of the University of Messina and with the Archaeological Superintendence Board of Messina. Its scope is to produce an archaeological map of the ancient city, managed in a GIS. Other than the famous theatre and a few monuments from the Greek and Roman Ages, there are many archaeological evidences that are practically unknown and noted only due to some sporadic discoveries or because of unpublished emergency excavations. All of the monuments and the sites have been positioned, as well as the old excavations, on a vector cartography on a scale of 1:2000 by means of a GPS differential system. This has permitted a comprehensive analysis of ancient evidence and allows for a thematic approach linked to the topography of the Greek city and of its subsequent town planning transformations during the Roman and Medieval periods. The final objective is to get a greater awareness of the ancient centre and of its expanse and articulation, by means of a prompt placement of all the archaeological evidence that has been pointed out up until now, as well as to safeguard and to promote a more rich cultural tourist offering.

Keywords:
Ugento, Taormina, archaeological maps, GPS, urban archaeology